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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Books for August

This
month we continue our journey into the world of Scout Finch with Harper Lee’s
new novel, Go Set A Watchman. The group was unanimous in its opinion that To
Kill A Mocking Bird was indeed a masterpiece, but the mixed reviews of this
sequel and the controversy surrounding it make me uneasy and I wonder if it will fulfill our expectations.

Our
second choice is Strong For Potatoes by Cynthia Thayer. We previously read her
title A Certain Slant of Light, but this is her debut novel . . . perhaps we
should make more of an effort to start with author’s debuts first in future!

Both books are now on the Nooks.

Go Set A Watchman by
Harper Lee

From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set
two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece,To Kill a Mockingbird.

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise
Finch--"Scout"--returns home from New York City to visit her aging father,
Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political
turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns
bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the
town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and
her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic
characters fromTo Kill a Mockingbird,Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world,
in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past--a
journey that can be guided only by one's conscience.

Written in the mid-1950s,Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer
understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of
wisdom, humanity, passion, humor and effortless precision--a profoundly
affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and
relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance ofTo Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth,
context and new meaning to an American classic.

Strong For Potatoes
by Cynthia Thayer

Cynthia Thayer's acclaimed debut novel,Strong for Potatoes, is the resonant story of the difficult youth of Blue
Willoughby, a remarkable girl growing up in eastern Maine. In a life beset by
tragedy, beginning with the death of her twin sister Berry only days after
their birth, Blue must discover on her own strength she needs to survive.

Blue's true ally is her grandfather, a
full-blooded Passamoquoddy Indian who teaches Blue life's most vital lessons:
that the ways of nature can illuminate life, that family can be depended on,
that true passion is worth waiting for, and that grief can heal. Most
important, he he passes on the ways of his ancestors-knowledge that Blue will
need to find a sense of her own true self amid the chaos of her adolescence.

Reminiscent of Dorothy Allison and Barbara
Kingsolver,Strong for Potatoes is a rich, evocative literary debut
by a gifted writer and teller of the most rewarding kind of story: beautifully
crafted, authentic, moving, and ultimately uplifting.